Microsoft
Shawn Hodson
About Bill Gates
William Henry Gates the third was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. He has an older sister, Kristianne, and a younger sister, Libby. His parents are William Henry Gates the second and Mary Maxwell. Bill was a bright child and did well in school but he seemed bored with his school work at times. His parents moved him to Lakeside school when he was 13. Lakeside was a private school that allowed the kids to have computer time. Soon after he enrolled at Lakeside he created a tic-tac-toe program at age 13, that allowed users to play against the computer. His major accomplishment was developing Microsoft Windows with his school friend Paul Allen.
HIstory of Microsoft
Gates was visiting his friend Allen and saw an article on the Altair 8800 mini computer kit. He and Allen immediately were fascinated and called the company (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems or MITS) that made the Altair 8800 to see if they were interested in a software that would run the computer. The president of MITS, Ed Roberts, wanted to see a demonstration of the software. The demonstration went perfectly, both Gates and Allen were hired. Gates and Allen formed a partnership called "Microsoft" in 1975. Microsoft is a blend of Micro-computer and Software. At first it was was taking a tole on the company, and netted fees and royalties, because people weren't paying for the software. Roberts later sold MITS to another company, so Gates and Allen had to sue the new owner for the rights of the software they created. Gates made himself the head of Microsoft, and in 1978 it was worth 2.5 million. In November 1980, IBM was looking for a software that would run their new personal computer. IBM contacted Microsoft, and Gates sold the software to them for 50,000 with a fee on copies of the software sold with their computers. By 1983, 30% of the world was using Microsoft' software. In 1985 Microsoft Windows was released. Windows was a software that used a mouse to display images and text
Effects of Microsoft
The creation of Microsoft has definitely changed the way we lived today. Most people take it for granted, and wouldn't be able to go a day without modern technology. Microsoft has contributed to expanding the limits of technology. Today computers have faster internet and can do numerous amounts of jobs on one screen.
Background information
Bill gates went to Harvard University, but left his Junior year to devote himself to Microsoft. As a young child he was always fascinated with computers, and had a dream that a computer would be in every office and home. Today Bill Gates has 72 billion dollars. If he dropped a $100 bill on the ground it would literally be a waste of time for him to pick it up.
Entrepreneurial Qualities
Bill Gates has many good entrepreneurial qualities. He was never satisfied with what he already accomplished and he wasn't afraid to take risks to make Microsoft better. He is also a great leader. He made himself head of the company and took it in the right direction.
Extend your knowledge
I admire what Bill Gates did for the world, he had a dream and made it come true. Gates was interested in computer technology and I am more interested in sciences and sports. If I were to create and invention to help better peoples lives it would be a teleporter so people wouldn't have to spend time sitting in traffic.
Bill Gates today
On February 4, 2014 bill gates announced that he was resigning as chairman of Microsoft. Now he is spending his time on philanthropic projects and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on education and world health.